Digha

Digha (Bengali: দীঘা Dīgha DIH-ghah) is one of the most popular seaside resorts in West Bengal. People from the cities flock around the beaches of Digha during the vacation. As it is close to cities like Kolkata and Kharagpur, Digha has emerged from a small fishing hamlet to a weekend getaway with numerous budget hotels and lodges.

Climate
There are mainly five seasons in Digha, namely summer, monsoon, autumn, winter and spring. Summer starts in April and continues until June with a maximum temperature of. Although cold wind from the sea keeps the weather pleasant in this time. Next comes monsoon in July and lasts till the end of September. Digha generally experiences an average rainfall with high humidity in the monsoon season. Autumn sets in October and lasts till mid of December with an average temperature of around. The weather remains very pleasant this time. Winter sets in the second half of December and lasts till mid February with an average temperature of. The spring is the most enjoyable season in Digha starting from mid February to mid April. The hotels remain full of their capacity as tourist inflow is the highest in this peak season.

Talk
Since Digha is near the border of West Bengal and Odisha, both Bengali and Odia are understood by the locals. Therefore, having a knowledge of any one of the two languages can be useful to communicate with them.

By train
is the main entry point to the town. However, you should make reservations in advance for weekends, national holidays and sessions like Durga Puja, Diwali, Christmas etc. For train timings, check out the Indian Railways website. There are several trains from Howrah (HWH), New Jalpaiguri (NJP), Puri, Mecheda and Panskura.

By bus
There are frequent bus services to from Kolkata, including Esplanade, Baruipur, Garia and Joka. Buses from Garia run from 4:00AM–8:30AM and there is also an afternoon bus service from the same state transport depot. Service is regular and residents of Jadavpur, Tollygunge and Rajpur Sonarpur can easily use the good service.

There are also bus services from Asansol, Baharampur, Bardhaman, Santiniketan, Serampore, Siliguri and Tarakeswar. Buses are available from Howrah as well, a connection has been made from Sealdah to Digha where a private bus arrives at 8:30AM throughout the week. It takes the shortest route from Sealdah connecting SN Banerjee Rd, Taltala, Wellington, Esplanade to Howrah station, it departs from Howrah station within 5 minutes to Digha.

By car
Travelling to Digha by road has become easier, promoting tourism in Digha and the surrounding beaches. The roads are excellent and you can easily reach Digha from Kolkata in 4 hours of sedate driving.

Route: From Kolkata via Vidyasagar Setu and Kona Expressway take the NH-16 (old NH-6) till Kolaghat -> take a left turn on NH-116 (old NH-41) excellent roads till Nandkumar -> right turn on state highway all the way to Digha, via towns of Contai and Ramnagar.

En route decent toilet facilities and food is available at Ruk Zaraa (Kolaghat), Sher-e-Punjab (Kolaghat), Express Food Plaza (Kolaghat), Sher Bengal (Mecheda) etc.

Get around



 * Cycle-vans (commonly known as 'vans') is one of the unique modes of transportation in Digha. These are available everywhere and can be booked for touring around Digha and nearby places.
 * Motor-vans are used in digha as public transport for touring far places like Mandarmani, Shankarpur, Chandaneshwar etc. Motor vans will take you to New Digha from Old Digha for around ₹5 per person.
 * Private cars are also available in Digha.

Buy

 * Cashew nuts: There is a cashew nut farm in Digha so varieties of cashew nuts are available.
 * Digha Mohana Fish Market: Buy fresh fish here
 * Hand woven mats made of hemp. These mats are called Madur in Bengali and the colourful Madurs of Midnapur District are famous.
 * Jewellery made with Hyderabadi Pearls.
 * Ornaments and Curios made of sea shells.

Eat
The famous 'Hinger Kochuri' is a famous breakfast of Digha. There are many stalls and sweet shops all over Digha which offers this delicious breakfast.

There are many cheap "rice hotels" all over Digha, serving cheap, but good quality Bengali dishes. There are some more expensive restaurants where continental food is available. In an average restaurant, a vegetarian meal is available for ₹35-45, Bengali fish curry-rice is available for ₹25-35. A meal with egg curry-rice is available around ₹45.

Another great idea would be to just buy the staple vegetarian fare at the hotel you are staying and have it delivered to your room. You can buy fresh fishes like ilish, pomfret, parshe and prawns from Mohona, Digha fish market in the morning and have it cooked at the numerous "Dada-Boudi'r" joints around Sea Hawk. Have this fish with your standard vegetarian lunch or dinner.

In the evening look for fried fish, crabs and prawns on the sea front in Digha.

Those who are fussy about the quality of cooking, have transport at their command and are looking for tasty fish preparations should go and have lunch at Shankarpur, they prepare the fish much better than at the rest of Digha. The quality at Shankarpur is comparable to the splurge dining in Kolkata but is comparatively cheaper and the fish as fresh as you can demand. The trouble of travelling would be well compensated.
 * Hotel Sandy Bay serves good Bengali cuisine. Try their sea food - prawns, pomfret, bhetki, parse (a small sweet water fish - cooked whole with the bones - so you must use your hands to eat), rohu (a form of carp). Vegetarian food such as mochar ghonto (spicy young green bananas), aloo posto, aloor dum (Bengali style), Kashmiri aloo dum and cholar daal is also available.
 * Hotel Sandy Bay serves good Bengali cuisine. Try their sea food - prawns, pomfret, bhetki, parse (a small sweet water fish - cooked whole with the bones - so you must use your hands to eat), rohu (a form of carp). Vegetarian food such as mochar ghonto (spicy young green bananas), aloo posto, aloor dum (Bengali style), Kashmiri aloo dum and cholar daal is also available.

Drink

 * Alcohol — There are many bars and wine shops in Digha serving all sorts of hard drinks, but the liquor shops close around 7pm. If you want to buy a drink after the shops are closed, some guys in front of the shops will provide alcohol at higher prices (potentially black bargaining). The bar at Hotel Nest is good. But from Sandy Bay you can face the sea directly. A liquor shop has opened just 50 m outside the gates of the Fisheries premises on the right fork from Hotel Nest. A variety of medium grade whiskies, rum and other spirits are available.
 * Green Coconut water, (commonly known as 'Daab') is very cheap here. A single green coconut costs around ₹10-20 and the water is sweet and refreshing. The green coconut vendors move with their cycles all along the Sea Beach. There are also green coconut vendors which provide seating facilities near the beach.

Sleep


Always avoid the hotel-agents at the Digha station as their hotels are situated very far from the beach. It is better to consult the cycle-rickshawallahs for better lodging facilities (they take commissions from the hotel guys)



Stay safe

 * Electric torches or emergency lamps can help in case of temporary power outages, which are frequent during the summer. However, most of the hotels in Digha have their own backup generators, so if you don't bring a torch, you'll probably be fine.
 * Mosquito repellent — this is a must for visitors. Most shops in Digha sell repellent.
 * Safety at Sea. The sea becomes rough to very rough during high tide, especially during the new and full moon. It is unsafe to swim during high tide. There is a sea wall which protects Old Digha from erosion, and it is also unsafe to cross the wall during high tide. Most of Digha has No Swim warnings which you should mind. Always obey the commands of the khaki Coast Guards if you want to swim safely.

Go next

 * Bhubaneswar ( from Digha) — the capital of Odisha with several temples and the Nandankanan Zoo
 * Mandarmani (about from New Digha) — another popular seaside resort
 * Puri (about from Digha) — a pilgrimage spot with the Jagannath Temple, also famous for its beaches. There's a Superfast Express between Digha and Puri